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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872557">you have my whole heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BestDeadFriendsForever/pseuds/BestDeadFriendsForever'>BestDeadFriendsForever</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Buck is a single dad to the pipe baby [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Buck is such a dad, Evan "Buck" Buckley is a Sweetheart, Single Parents</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:07:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872557</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BestDeadFriendsForever/pseuds/BestDeadFriendsForever</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You were the firefighter from the ambulance,” the girl said and her posture softened a little with recognition though Buck’s tensed up with embarrassment at his behavior from earlier.<br/>“Yeah. Evan Buckley, but- uh-most people call me Buck,” Buck said and gave her a small smile before crossing over so he could hold out his hand.<br/>“I’m Marika,” she said and shook his hand before knotting it up in the blanket draped over her lap.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Bobby Nash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Buck is a single dad to the pipe baby [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2196279</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>155</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>9-1-1 Tales</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you have my whole heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Buck rubbed his eyes tiredly and tried to shake off the last vestiges of fatigue as he made his way towards Bobby’s office. He was fairly used to late nights- he wasn’t long out of college, he’d been a bartender in South America just after that, and he could admit to himself that he probably stayed too late at the bars and clubs that he sometimes spent his nights off inside of. And of course there was the occasional late-night hookup. But this wasn’t anything like that. This was a long, sleepless night of trying to figure out how to tell his boss about what he was about to do. What he’d already done.</p><p>            <em>Buck paced restlessly in the hallway. He probably shouldn’t even be there if he were being totally honest, but he just hadn’t been able to let this call go. Bobby’s words about leaving everything behind but the weight of his kit rang in his ears as he stopped pacing and just looked at the open door.</em></p><p>
  <em>            Before he could second-guess himself, he walked up to the door and knocked gently on the frame as he leaned in a little so the girl in the bed could see him. She looked at him owlishly before gesturing for him to come inside. He stepped just inside the door and tucked his hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting and looking as nervous as he felt on the inside.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “You were the firefighter from the ambulance,” the girl said and her posture softened a little with recognition though Buck’s tensed up with embarrassment at his behavior from earlier.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Yeah. Evan Buckley, but- uh-most people call me Buck,” Buck said and gave her a small smile before crossing over so he could hold out his hand.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “I’m Marika,” she said and shook his hand before knotting it up in the blanket draped over her lap.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “I came by to see how you were feeling, check up on you and your baby,” Buck said and leaned his hip against the chair beside her bedside. He felt a prickle of panic run down his spine as she let out a short little sob and swiped at her face. “Oh God- I didn’t mean to- I’m sorry,” Buck apologized but she just shook her head and waved him off.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “No, no,” she said and took a breath that seemed to make her whole body shudder. “I was just talking with my father and- I can’t keep her. I mean, I always knew that but… it seems different now that I’ve seen her.” She looked away with a grimace on her face. Buck felt a sharp ache in his chest for her and then an idea started to form in the back of his mind. It was insane but… maybe it could work.</em>
</p><p>            “You gonna come in or keep lurking at my office door?” Bobby asked, breaking Buck out of his thoughts. Buck chewed the inside of his cheek as he shuffled inside Bobby’s office and carefully closed the door behind him. Bobby raised an eyebrow at him as Buck tentatively came over to sit down.</p><p>            “There’s something I’ve got to talk to you about,” Buck started, choosing his words carefully. He was well aware that he was on thin ice as it was after only just getting fired- still only barely hanging onto his job by his fingernails since Bobby was giving him the cold shoulder and tough love routine- and that he hadn’t been working for the department very long. But this was important. “I’m going to need to take some time off.”</p><p>            “Buck-” Bobby started with a slightly exasperated expression, but Buck interrupted before Bobby could start in on the disapproving rant that Buck could see him working up towards.</p><p>            “It’s for paternity leave,” Buck cut in and then bit his lip at Bobby’s blanched expression. “It’s complicated, but I promise I just need some time to get set up in a new place and to figure out childcare. I’ll be back to work as soon as I can. I know that you’ve given me more chances than I probably deserve but I just- this is <em>really</em> important, Bobby.” His voice was coming out thready and desperate, but Buck was too tired and invested to care about how he looked.</p><p>            “Where the hell did this even come from?” Bobby asked and shook his head. Then his expression went a little stormy and Buck found himself tensing- bracing for a blow- without his permission. “We already talked about the way you were irresponsible with your body and I thought-”</p><p>            “Bobby, stop,” Buck said firmly and he felt his jaw clench. He understood that Bobby was disapproving and he could even admit that he hadn’t been respectful of his job when executing some of his hook-ups, but he took care of his and his partner’s bodies unlike what Bobby was implying. “First of all, I always make sure to use protection when I have sex-” Bobby grimaced at the overshare but Buck just pushed on despite his own discomfort. “-and secondly, I didn’t get anyone pregnant. I’m adopting a baby.”</p><p>            Bobby seemed thrown and he narrowed his eyes at Buck for a moment. “I think I’m going to need a little more context.”</p><p>            Buck shifted in his seat and rubbed his suddenly sweaty palms on the legs of his pants. “I know you said that I needed to put all my crap aside when I’m on the job- and I’ve been working on it- but I couldn’t stop thinking about the girl- Marika- and her baby. I… might have gone to check in on her at the hospital yesterday after end of shift.” Buck grimaced and waited for Bobby to cut in and start lecturing him, but Bobby just watched him carefully, patiently waiting for him to finish. “We were talking and I made the decision to take her baby.” Buck pushed a hand through his hair. “I know it’s going to sound stupid and like I’m just putting way too much into this but I <em>felt</em> something, Bobby. Something I don’t know how to explain- or maybe I just don’t know the words, but I <em>know</em> I’m making the right decision and I just need some time to get things settled. I mean there’s the home inspection that I’ve got to pass and the legalities, but since it’s direct and she’s just signing everything over and there shouldn’t be too many issues once I find a decent place and baby-proof everything-” Buck was rambling but he was nervous. He hadn’t known Bobby for very long, but from the beginning Bobby had stepped into a mentor/parent-adjacent role for Buck and Buck craved the other’s approval.</p><p>            Bobby’s mouth quirked into a smile and he nodded. “Alright, on one condition.”</p><p>            “What is it?” Buck asked and frowned a little at the way that Bobby was looking at him like he was trying not to laugh.</p><p>            “The second you get everything settled- you’ve got to bring her by the station. Introduce her to everyone,” Bobby said and Buck brightened up.</p><p>            “Yeah, definitely. I can do that,” Buck said and he felt a flush of happiness wash over him as Bobby stood up and walked over to the door.</p><p>“Okay, I can get you the time off, but I’m gonna have to pull some strings and you’re going to owe some people a couple of favors,” Bobby said and gave Buck a look to convey the seriousness of his tone.</p><p>            “I can do that,” Buck said immediately and he straightened up with a smile tugging at his mouth. “Anything, Bobby. I’ll do anything.”</p><p>            “You might not want to agree to ‘anything’ just yet because you might find yourself scrubbing the blood out of the hard to reach places of the ambulance,” Bobby said and gave Buck a look as he rounded the desk to stand just in front of Buck. “But I admire the dedication. Let me make a few calls.” Bobby clapped his hand down on Buck’s shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. “We’ve got your back, kid.”</p><p>            Buck felt the same warmth settle in his chest as when he’d been holding the baby and talking to her as they made their way down the stairs and to the hospital. It felt good and it helped him to be sure that he was making the right decisions.</p><p>…..</p><p>            Buck forgot how much he hated apartment hunting. He never felt like he knew what he was looking for or even what he was looking at. He knew he needed more space than the frat house he’d been staying in- the room itself was tiny and he didn’t really think that the beer pong table crammed into the living room was going to sell that he was parent material- but that was a really vague idea.</p><p>            Buck felt his easy smile starting to become a little strained around the edges as the realtor left him to wander around the newest apartment. He looked around at the empty bedrooms- two of them- and then chewed his lip as he turned around in the dining room. He shoved his hands into his pockets so that he wouldn’t start chewing on his nails, and that’s when his hand bumped into his phone.</p><p>            He pulled it out of his pocket and tapped his finger against the edge of the screen as he considered. He wasn’t sure if he could call anyone from the 118, but he also knew that he was in over his head. Far over his head. He let out a short breath and finally unlocked his phone and thumbed Bobby’s contact to call him. He pressed the phone to his ear and he shifted on his feet awkwardly as it rang.</p><p>            “What’s going on, Buck?” Bobby asked once he’d picked up.</p><p>            “I-uh- well, I was apartment hunting and… well…” Buck ducked his head.</p><p>            “Not going well?” Bobby asked but there wasn’t any judgement behind his tone.</p><p>            “Not exactly,” Buck said and shuffled his foot. “I’ve never really looked for an apartment- and the place that I live now just kind of fell into my lap but it wouldn’t be great for a baby- so I… I might need some help.” Buck grimaced a little and closed his eyes as he listened to the quiet static on the other end of the line.</p><p>            “Text me where you’re at and I can meet you in about…” Bobby trailed off, most likely looking at his watch or a clock on the wall, “ten minutes tops?”</p><p>            Buck felt his neck burning a little as the realtor look at him with a soft from. “Yeah, sounds good. Thanks.” Buck said goodbye to Bobby and hung up the phone so he could send Bobby a quick text and pretend to listen to and understand the realtor as she explained the various features of the apartment.</p><p>            Buck nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the front door open, but he relaxed as he realized that it was just Bobby arriving to help save him. “Sorry to interrupt,” Bobby said and Buck shifted on his feet awkwardly as the realtor glanced between Buck and Bobby with a furrow between her brows. Then she brightened up and gave Bobby a small smile before offering him her hand.</p><p>            “Not interrupting at all. I wondered who your son was on the phone with earlier.” Both Buck and Bobby hesitated a little at the woman’s assumption.</p><p>            “Right…” Bobby said and he glanced at where Buck’s face was turning bright red in embarrassment at the entirety of the situation as it unfolded. “Buck,” Bobby said and put a hand onto Buck’s shoulder, “just needed a little extra help.”</p><p>            The realtor nodded and once again launched into the features of the apartment and showed Bobby around, Buck trailing behind them feeling like a little boy trying to pretend to be a grown-up. Bobby listened to everything she said intently and nodded in the right places, but when she turned away he gave Buck a grimace and shook his head. Buck let out a soft breath of relief at having somewhat of an answer to his growing problem.</p><p>            They walked through some other places, but there was always something about them that either Buck didn’t like or Bobby didn’t. Until they looked at the last one. It was a loft, which Buck would have thought would have been bad for a baby since there were stairs, but Bobby mentioned something about getting a gate to keep the baby from falling and getting hurt once she was big enough to crawl and walk. It had a lot of windows and light, there weren’t a ton of doors so Buck could pretty much see the whole place- Bobby said that was good because Buck would be able to keep a better eye on the baby- and it was really nice.</p><p>            “What do you think, Bobby?” Buck asked quietly and leaned back against the kitchen island where Bobby was looking over the kitchen appliances that came with the place.</p><p>            “I think it’s really nice, Buck. And it’s not too far from the station so your commute would be shorter and- God forbid- if something were to happen and you needed help,” Bobby said and tucked his hands into his pockets. “We could easily put up a safety gate to keep the stairs from being an issue, and it’s got plenty of space for when she gets a little older.” Bobby shrugged. “More importantly, what do <em>you</em> think?”</p><p>            Buck turned around so that he was looking out over the apartment, the open living room that lead into the second bedroom that Buck figured would be the baby’s since there was no danger of having to deal with the stairs, up into the loft, and then back to where Bobby was watching him. Buck cracked a small smile. “I like it, Bobby.” Bobby grinned back at him and clapped a hand down on his shoulder.</p><p>            “Then let’s look at that paperwork,” Bobby said and together they walked over to where the realtor was waiting with a brochure and a clipboard.</p><p>…..</p><p>            Buck had filled out all the apartment paperwork, court paperwork, filed all of it, gone through the inspections, and now he was finally going to be able to sign the official papers and bring his baby girl home. It almost didn’t feel real as he checked that everything was ready- despite having triple-checked it the night before- before messing with his tie nervously. He smoothed it down before tugging his shoes on and checking his phone.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>From: Bobby</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>Remember to breathe, you’re gonna be fine</em>
</p><p>            Buck couldn’t help but crack a small smile before he tucked his phone back into his pocket. Bobby had been a big help at pretty much every step of the way. Whenever Buck started to feel overwhelmed and like he couldn’t do this, Bobby just talked to him with the same level of calm and collectedness that he did whenever they were out on the job. It’d helped a lot and Buck knew that there was probably no way that he was ever going to be able to repay him.</p><p>            Buck knew that he was probably way too early, but he didn’t want to wait around and give his nerves time to choke him up and make him second-guess. Because he was sure about this- deep in his gut he knew he was making the right decision. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he navigated his way through L.A. traffic. It helped to keep him relaxed despite how stressful it could be. It was familiar by now.</p><p>            He parked his Jeep and rubbed his hands onto his pants one last time before he stepped out and walked into the building where the hearing and final signing was going to happen. He chewed his lip as he wandered, slowly finding his way to the right room. He stepped inside and listened to what was going on ahead of him in the courtroom.</p><p>            There was a light touch to his shoulder and Buck turned to see Marika smiling at him. He grinned back and shuffled a little so she could sit down. “You’re by yourself?” Buck asked quietly and she shook her head.</p><p>            “My father is here, but he wanted to wait outside. I think as much as he knows I’m making the right choice, it’s still hard,” she shrugged and Buck gave her a small, sympathetic smile. “But she’ll be happy with you.” She reached out and gave Buck’s hand a squeeze and Buck just nodded back.</p><p>            “Thank you, for trusting me.”</p><p>            Their conversation was cut off there as their case number was called. Buck smoothed his tie down again despite it being perfectly fine, as they stood and made their way to the front. Buck felt a little shaky as the judge started talking about the responsibility of taking care of a child and how hard it can be, especially alone. The judge fixed Buck with a stern eye that made him square his shoulders. “Are you ready to take on this responsibility, Mr. Buckley?”</p><p>            “Yes, ma’am,” Buck said and gave a short nod.</p><p>            “Are you, Ms. Nováková, ready to sign away the last of your parental rights over to Mr. Buckley?” The judge asked and some of her demeanor softened a little at how small Marika looked.</p><p>            “I am,” Marika said and folded her hands in front of her.</p><p>            The rest of it happened all in a blur. There were what felt like a million pieces of paper to sign in triplicate and Buck didn’t remember half of what it was but it didn’t matter much since he had a copy of all of it and by the end of it, the judge was ushering the foster- who had been standing in the back with Buck’s baby girl but Buck had been too nervous to notice when they’d come in- to hand her over. Buck’s cheeks ached as she was passed into his arms. The same warm feeling from when he’d been running down the stairs towards the ambulance settled in his chest and made him feel lighter than air.</p><p>            “And what have you decided to call this little angel?” The judge asked after they’d gotten some pictures- Buck and the baby with the judge and then one with Marika and the foster family as well. Buck smoothed the blanket around where the baby was dozing off against his chest before he opened his mouth to answer.</p><p>…..</p><p>            Buck’s cheeks ached from smiling so much as he drove- almost too slowly to be safe- to the station. Despite it being the first day of his leave, he’d made a promise to Bobby and he had every intention of keeping it. He was looking forward to introducing the newest member of their little family to everyone else- especially since he and Bobby had kept things pretty hushed up to surprise the rest of the team. Or in case things fell through.</p><p>            Buck had already tugged off his tie and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, but he didn’t really have time to change out of his suit that he’d worn to the courthouse. He parked in the station’s parking lot and hopped out to unlock the baby’s car seat from the base so that he could carry her inside. He was practically wiggling with anticipation as he made his way into the station.</p><p>            “Whoa,” Chim said as he caught sight of Buck strolling in with the carrier. “Did you upgrade from grand theft firetruck to kidnapping?”</p><p>            Buck rolled his eyes. “Very funny, Chim. But no. Is Bobby around?” Chim waved vaguely in the direction of upstairs and Buck took that to mean Bobby was in the kitchen. Buck carefully made his way up the stairs, worriedly checking to make sure that the slight jostling hadn’t woken the baby up. It hadn’t and she was resting contentedly in her car seat. He grinned when he stepped off of the stairs to see Bobby at the kitchen counter, scrawling the weekly grocery list down with a deep furrow in his brow. “Hey,” Buck said and when Bobby looked up, he nodded to where he had the baby. He moved over to the table and settled the car seat onto it.</p><p>            “Wow, Buck,” Bobby said softly and Buck couldn’t help but just grin wider. “She’s gotten so big so quickly.”</p><p>Buck nodded proudly. “Nurses at the NICU said she ate like a champ once she caught on,” Buck said and smoothed his thumb over a wrinkle in her blanket. “She’s right around the weight she would have been if she weren’t born early.”</p><p>            Bobby hummed in amusement. Before either of them could say any more, Chim was dragging Hen up the stairs by the arm. Buck opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, but before he could say anything, Chim gestured at the car seat emphatically like he’d been trying to convince Hen that Buck had brought in a baby and Hen hadn’t believed him.</p><p>            “Is this a safe haven thing?” Hen asked and Buck frowned a little.</p><p>            “Uh, no.” Buck couldn’t help the irritation in his voice as both Chim and Hen came in closer to sneak a peek at the baby. “She’s mine,” Buck said with a smile. Even with the ribbing they were giving him, he couldn’t help but beam with pride.</p><p>            Hen blinked at him from behind her glasses. “Okay…” she said, obviously processing and Buck couldn’t help but fidget a little under the intensity of her scrutiny. “Well, alright then. You better not have brought her here thinking that none of us would get to hold her.” Buck relaxed a little, not noticing how tensely he’d been holding his shoulders and back, before he nodded.</p><p>            “I wouldn’t dare,” he said with a grin before he moved to fold up the baby’s blanket and unclip the safety restraints keeping her in the carrier. He lifted her out gently, settling her against his chest as she snuffled a little, blinking awake slowly. Thankfully, she didn’t start to cry and Buck just rubbed her back in a slow circle to keep her settled.</p><p>            Hen held out her arms and Buck carefully transferred her over, brushing his thumb over the back of her head and then smoothed down the short fluff of fair hair that fell on her forehead. Hen grinned down at the baby in her arms and unconsciously, probably on reflex from when Denny was a baby, swayed a little on her feet. “And what is the little miss’s name?” Hen asked and glanced up at Buck.</p><p>            “Piper,” Buck said and smoothed his hand down her tiny arm until her hand was wrapped around his finger. All of them turned to stare at him with looks ranging from incredulity to horror. Buck frowned a little at that. He’d agonized over naming her for nearly three weeks while he’d been going through the inspections and required classes and the looks they were giving him were making his stomach churn with nerves that he’d made a mistake. “What?”</p><p>            “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Hen said.</p><p>            “What?” Buck demanded with a scowl at the judgement that he heard in her tone.</p><p>            “Buck,” Chim said and he let out a weird chuckle that he cut off in the middle by clamping his jaw shut tightly and- by the looks of it- biting his tongue. “You named her Piper.”</p><p>            “Yeah,” Buck said but it came out a little bit more like a question.</p><p>            “Piper, Buck. <em>Piper</em>,” Chim said with an excess of emphasis that just made Buck irritable as he didn’t get catch on to whatever it was that Chim obviously wanted him to understand.</p><p>“Yeah. I did. I thought it would be cute.” Buck crossed his arms over his chest defensively. Chim threw up his hands like he always did when Buck didn’t get his pop culture references.</p><p>“Bobby, you wanna chime in here?” Chim asked.</p><p>            “Um… Buck,” Bobby said gently and folded his hands awkwardly in front of him. “You don’t think that it might be- well- <em>inappropriate</em> to call her Piper since we… rescued her from a pipe.”</p><p>            Buck blinked for a moment and he felt his face getting hot as they all stared at him. “I-” Buck’s voice squeaked a little as he closed his mouth. He snorted a little though it was mostly horrified rather than any kind of humor. “I hadn’t thought of that.”</p><p>            There was a moment of hesitant silence before they all burst into bright laughter at Buck’s mindless name choice. He rubbed the back of his neck before Piper started to fuss and Hen passed her back over to Buck. He shushed her carefully as Hen, Chim, and Bobby clustered around him to just look at the little addition to their cobbled-together family.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had the unoriginal idea that Buck adopts the baby from the pipe in the first episode and I am RUNNING with it. The Piper thing was actually completely thoughtlessly done on my part as I added it to the list of potential names and my brother did the same thing that Hen did.<br/>Comment and tell me what single-parent woes Buck should deal with (eventually there will be Buddie don't you worry ;) )<br/>-James</p></blockquote></div></div>
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